That’s the lot for today. Merci for reading, and for your emails. Can anyone stop Pogacar? It’s looking highly unlikely. Bye for now.
Tuck into our snap stage 12 report here:
Updated
On or near the podium, Macron and Pogacar shake hands. The handshake lasts a remarkable amount of time. Macron maybe making sure the photographers have got the shot? I time it at 31sec. New record?
Roglic, seventh on GC, is asked about the pace that Visma-Lease a Bike set on the Hautacam.
“It was just fast. Way too fast for me. It was a big battle in the last 7km just to come to the top.”
“How do you feel now?” asks another reporter.
“Tired.”
Roglic smiles.
“When you have the legs, you have to go,” Roglic says of his teammate Lipowitz, who finished third on the stage and moved up to fourth in GC. “He had the legs today so yes, great job from him.”
As team leader, how does Roglic feel to see Lipowitz ride so well? Roglic looks a little puzzled.
“I’m happy. I’m really happy. I hope he keeps the level to the finish.”
And what about his socks today, or lack thereof?
“Yeah, it’s hot, no? So I work on it for the summer, a bit, without the lines, no?”
Updated
Armirail, who led into the last climb, finished 17th on the stage, 10min 46sec behind Pogacar.
KOM standings: top 5
1) Pogacar 27pts
2) Martinez 27pts
3) Woods 22pts
4) Healy 16pts
5) Armirail 15pts
Top 10 GC after stage 12
1) Pogacar 45hr 22min 51sec
2) Vingegaard +3min 31sec
3) Evenepoel +4min 45sec
4) Lipowitz +5min 34sec
5) Vauqelin +5min 40sec
6) Onley +6min 05sec
7) Roglic +7min 30sec
8) Johannessen +7min 44sec
9) Gall +9min 21sec
10) Jorgenson +12min 12sec
Updated
Grischa Niermann of Visma Lease A Bike speaks to TNT Sports: “Jonas was feeling well, but on the last climb Pogacar was clearly the best, and he also suffered a lot. It was a very hard day and in the end the best rider won.
“It was for sure not Jonas’s best day. He is still the best of the rest. But congratulations to Tadej and to UAE, they showed who is the strongest rider here.”
Was Pogacar out for revenge? “I knew first time I rode Hautacam, for recon, it’s a super nice climb,” Pogacar says. “Then it came in 2022. I was trying with my “head through the wall” to get back the yellow jersey, but Visma were too strong back then. I forgot about this, I was just looking forward to today, but then all the people were saying [before this stage]: ‘It is revenge time, blah blah blah.’
“When we approached the bottom of the climb, it was just a reverse of a few years ago, one Belgian guy on the front, Tim [Wellens] … I’m super happy to win on this climb, and to take time.
Did he have doubts after yesterday’s crash? “For sure you don’t know how the body reacts after the crash. It was not too bad. I feel my hip but only when I do acrobatics. But here I am just riding the bike. I sweat a bit more, but maybe it’s good.
“We did a super job. The team rode really well. yeah, chapeau also to Ben Healy and EF. They were trying to defend the jersey, they showed big spirit, and also Uno-X, they fight for their own GC, so it was a hard day for everybody. But in the end we were super-strong. We had this stage in mind a long time, and we did it.
“I think this stage can go today for Samuele [Privitera, the 19-year-old Italian cyclist who died yesterday] and to all his family. It was really sad, it was the first thing I read in the morning, and I was thinking in the last kilometre about him and how this tough sport can be. And how much pain it can cause.”
Updated
“Did Amirail drop off the face of the earth?” asks Beau Dure. Fair question, I’ll check where he was in the final reckoning …
Tour de France stage 12: top 5
1) Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 4hr 21min 19sec
2) Jonas Vingegaard (Visma Lease A Bike) +2min 11sec
3) Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe) +2min 23sec
4) Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) +3min
5) Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) +3min
Updated
That is Pogacar’s 20th Tour de France stage win.
Vingegaard eventually comes home 2min 11sec behind Pogacar, that will add up to three and half minutes in the overall.
Lipowitz finishes third.
Updated
Tadej Pogacar wins Tour de France stage 12!
Complete and total domination from the defending champion.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, is there by the finish line to applaud.
And it looks like Vingegaard has blown up, somewhat, back down the road …
Updated
1km to go: Pogacar rides under the flamme rouge. He’s riding imperiously to another phenomenal stage win, and all with a considerable amount of road rash on his left arm and body.
“I was expecting a much bigger battle, a much closer one,” says Sean Kelly on commentary.
1.5km to go: Pogacar’s lead continues to grow. It’s up to 1min 48sec. The fans roar their approval. It’s a phenomenal ride by Pogacar but it’s not pointing at it being a very close overall race …
Meanwhile Lipowitz now leads Evenepoel by a minute, and is looking very strong.
2km to go: “What is Richard going to do with his baguette now he won’t be eating it?” asks Bob. “Drop it in the Large Hadron Collider?”
2.5km to go: Vingegaard gets out his saddle and then settles back into a rhythm as typically idiotic fans run alongside him in reckless fashion. The gap to the leader is 1min 36sec.
3km to go: Now, towards the summit, there are thousands of fans packing the road side. A Republic of Ireland flag is waved in Pogacar’s face as he rides through the crowds.
“It won’t be an unassailable lead but it will be such a comfortable position after one proper mountain stage,” remarks Rob Hatch on commentary for TNT Sports.
3.5km to go: Pogacar was 29sec behind Healy before today. Evenepoel was third in GC, exactly a minute down on Pogacar. As it stands Vingegaard will go second in GC tonight but he might be three minutes behind the race leader.
4km to go: Pogacar now has 1min 20sec on his rival Vingegaard, and his closest challengers are 2min 15sec down. This is utter dominance, but it’s not a surprise.
4.5km to go: Florian Lipowitz attacks Onley, but the young British rider responds. They are eighth and seventh on GC respectively with 10sec between them.
Updated
5km to go: The hot tarmac on the mountain has been daubed with various messages in chalk and paint. Pogacar rides over one message that says “JONAS” in yellow with a Danish flag.
5.5km to go: Pogacar will take the headlines but I take my hat off to any athlete that finishes today’s stage within the time limit. It’s been absolutely relentless and brutal. Thank God it’s a nice easy mountain ITT tomorrow …
6km to go: “He doesn’t look like he’s anywhere near the limit,” Kelly says of Pogacar, just before we see a spectacular helicopter shot of some buzzards just sitting there, maybe enjoying the action. “When you think about the pace of the stage today this is crazy stuff. It’s mind-boggling.”
Updated
6.5km to go: Pogacar now has 53sec on Vingegaard. That’s some gap and he rides relentlessly onwards, in that unmistakeable rhythm. The chasers behind are gaining a bit on Vingegaard but they are 1min 49sec behind the stage leader.
Updated
7km to go: “This is absolutely amazing. Imperious,” writes David Alderton.
“What a day so far!”
7.3km to go: “He’s just got to limit his losses,” says Sean Kelly on commentary. “In the losing position, it’s very hard to hold your head and keep working at it. And as Robbie said, you just never know what can happen.”
7.5km to go: “Pogacar now reminds me of Drago,” emails Tim. “He’s not human. He’s like a piece of iron. But on a carbon bike. Fearsome. I can understand why Trine Vingegaard wants Jonas to call it a day.”
8.5km to go: “We’ll see how I recover,” Pogacar said last night. “Normally the day after a crash you’re never at the best, but I will give my best and we’ll see. I think we’re ready as a team for Hautacam.”
Yes, it would seem so.
Updated
9km to go: Pogacar grabs a drink from the neutral service motorbike. Vingegaard rides on behind, all alone, desperately trying to limit his losses on the first major mountain stage of this year’s race.
10km to go: Pogacar is now riding among the thousands of fans lining the final climb.
“Should they have waited for Pogacar yesterday?” asks Robbie McEwen on commentary. “Because this is what he had in store for them.”
Pogacar leads his rival by 22sec. Evenepoel is more than a minute behind Pogacar.
Updated
11km to go: Pogacar powers on alone up front, looking very composed and in complete control. He leads his rival Vingegaard by 9sec.
The Visma Lease A Bike rider has settled into a rhythm. And he’s refusing to panic. It’s not a rhythm that looks likely to win him the stage …
Updated
11km to go: “Can Richard Hirst point to the soundness of the Richard Hirst theory, despite the scepticism displayed in some quarters?”
You can probably guess who sent that email. Yes, absolutely Richard, you can.
Updated
Pogacar blows the lead group apart to go clear
12km to go: Jhonatan Narváez takes it up for UAE. Armirail’s lead is 45sec.
Pogacar attacks! Vingegaard tries to respond but he cannot compete with a massive acceleration from the defending champion! And Pogacar is about to catch Armirail, the gap is under 10sec now.
Updated
12.5km to go: Tim Wellens is powering away for Pogacar at the front of the bunch. The gap is down to 1min 18sec. Kuss is dropped from the group of favourites. Pogacar looks fresh, up out of his saddle and riding strongly behind Wellens. No ill effects from yesterday’s crash are visible now. Oscar Onley is there, on the wheel of Vingegaard.
Updated
15km to go: Armirail powers towards the start of the climb. Two minutes is the gap, which clearly isn’t going to be enough, now the group of favourites has caught the chase group. If there were still attackers from a bigger lead group then the outcome may still be in doubt, as to whether the favourites will battle it out for the stage.
Updated
16km to go: The second group on the road has now incorporated the former chase group and the favourites are present. There are 27 riders, and Pogacar, Vingegaard and Evenepoel are all among them …
Updated
18km to go: The kilometres continue to flash past. Armirail is now on the flattish section just before the start of the Hautacam … he is 1min 56sec ahead of his pursuers and he looks full of beans. Here we go!
23km to go: Skjelmose, Woods, Storer, Rubio are the four chasers, but Armirail’s lead continues to grow. He is 1min 54sec in front now! But the Hautacam will be a great leveller, if that is the correct word for a massive mountain.
Pogacar and Vingegaard and the rest of that group are now 2min 05sec down on the leader.
Updated
26km to go: At the front, Armirail’s lead is up to 1min 34sec. He is a time trial specialist, winning the French national individual time trial title in 2022 and 2024. So this flat/downhill section will be much to his liking. I’ll take a bet that no one bet on him to win this stage? (Not to say that he definitely will …)
Updated
Evenepoel catches up with main contenders
28km to go: Evenepoel has managed to get himself back in the group with Pogacar and Vingegaard. Huge effort, fair play to the man.
“After what he’s had to do here, and the chase he’s put it, it would be extraordinary if he’s able to match the other two [Pogacar and Vingegaard] on the Hautacam,” says King Kelly.
Updated
29km to go: Now a big downhill leading into the Hautacam. The final climb is 13.6km long, so there’s a bit more than that of downhill terrain to go before the road kicks up again.
Updated
32km to go: Armirail has fashioned a lead of one minute on the chasers after mopping up five points for winning that category-two. This is a massive ride.
35km to go: Bruno Armirail (Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale) has attacked off the front and is our new leader. He crests the category-two Col des Bordères and will now speed towards the foot of the Hautacam, the final climb. Surely he’ll be caught by one of the specialist climbers behind him, and probably plenty of others, when that climb begins?
Updated
36km to go: Woods has been caught up front. There is a group of three with Skjelmose and Storer to keep Woods company.
No, scratch that, sorry. Bruno Armirail (Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale) now leads on his own! And the group of three are chasing him.
Updated
36.3km to go: “A lot of riders have got into difficulty earlier than expected,” says Sean Kelly on commentary. “It’s turning out to be a really difficult stage.”
Healy is really suffering and will definitely be kissing goodbye to yellow. With a stage win and three days as race leader in the can, though, it’s been a remarkable race for him.
Updated
39km to go: Our lone race leader, Michael Woods, has 23sec on his pursuers, Storer and Rubio.
Evenepoel is 2min 40sec behind the tête de la course, and according to the data I’m seeing he’s only 20sec behind the group with Pogacar and Vingegaard. We shall see.
Or is he actually 46sec behind that group? That’s another suggestion that I’m seeing. He’s definitely in trouble anyway.
Updated
40km to go: An email from Ruaidhrí arrives entitled: “Ben Healy”
“Well Luke, there goes that dream … Love from Ireland.”
Don’t cry because it’s over, Ruaidhrí. Smile because it happened.
41.5km to go: “I’m just catching up on today’s updates now (quiet morning at work on the East Coast),” emails Gwyn Williams. “When I saw the news you reported about Cees Bol abandoning the race, I was put in mind of this article I saw a while back about his fan club. This is everything great about cycling and its fans: a random bunch of guys are intrigued by his name, which they translate as Cheese Bowl, and then happen to meet Cees in person at a race.
“Upon learning that he doesn’t even like cheese, they are hooked by the sheer silliness of it. They bet on Cees in the first professional race of his career and win enough money to start a fan club. Now six years later they travel around in a van with CEESBOL license plates and shrink-wrapped with Cees’s picture on it, and Cees attends fan club meetings at their bar in Belgium. In what other sport do things like that happen?”
44km to go: Primoz Roglic, apparently, isn’t wearing socks. That’s a maverick move from the Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe man.
Updated
46.5km to go: Woods, looking extremely sprightly, powers to the top of the climb, grabs a bottle and then tears into the descent with no further ado. He picks up 10 KOM points, placing him second overall, above Ben Healy now but below Lenny Martinez in the polka-dot standings.
Updated
47km to go: “In spite of there being some good climbers in the breakaway, if Visma or UAE decide to put the hammer down on the climb to Hautacam and then Vingo or The Pog attacks, well, it’s a lost cause for the guys in front,” emails RM.
Well, it seems Visma’s team has already splintered out on the road and as we know UAE were under-strength before the stage started, so I remain to be convinced about that. Everyone is exhausted.
Updated
47.5km to go: Woods (Israel-PremierTech) attacks at the front!
Updated
49km to go: Still 2.5km left to climb on this category-one. Then still a category-two and the Hautacam to come. Exhausting.
Evenepoel is now losing a minute to Pogacar and co.
Updated
49km to go: Now a lead group of four has formed. Armirail (Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale), Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Woods (Israel-PremierTech), Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling).
I think Einer Rubio (Movistar Team) is there too, in fact. The animation of the race at the front has seen the gap between the break and the Pogacar/Vingegaard group grow to two minutes.
Updated
50km to go: No longer alone, Healy now has a teammate to empty some water over his back. I’m not sure it’s going to make much difference at this stage, lads.
50.5km to go: Skjelmose and Woods have a handful of seconds together at the front.
A reminder that Rodriguez of Ineos was the best-placed rider in GC in the massive 52-rider group. He was 5min 44sec down on the race leader at the start of the day.
Updated
51km to go: Healy, riding alone, empties some iced water over his back. His time in yellow is surely over.
Yellow jersey Healy dropped by main bunch
51,5km to go: Skjelmose attacks off the front for Lidl-Trek! Michael Woods (Israel-PremierTech goes with him).
Ben Healy, in yellow, is dropped by the main bunch!
While Jorgensen and Simon Yates appear to be suffering and have lost touch with their leader.
Now Emmanuel Macron has turned up! Not now, Emmanuel!
Updated
52.5km to go: There is a lot going on. Evenepoel is 20sec behind the main bunch.
Vingegaard has no teammates up ahead in the escape group, but Benoot, Kuss and Jorgensen are all there with him. Pogacar remains on the scene.
By the way, the peloton remains 1min 37sec behind the break, which may support the view that the escapees are strong enough to make this stick for the stage, at this stage of the climb.
Updated
53km to go: Axel Laurance continues to set the pace for Ineos at the front of the race. Then he pops and drops back.
Meanwhile, is Pogacar really suffering after that crash? Adam Blythe speculates that he might be, he’s on the radio a lot and has opened his jersey in the heat.
Pogacar’s teammate Tim Wellens, who is clearly on some of the best form of his career, is prominent at the front of the break, meanwhile.
Updated
53.5km to go: Tiesj Benoot, who was in the leading group, has dropped back to work on the front of the main bunch. He’s out of the saddle and setting a fierce pace as Visma Lease a Bike apparently looking to set this all up for their leader …
Updated
Evenepoel dropped from the peloton
54km to go: Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), in the green jersey, has been dropped by the main peloton and it 5min 16sec behind the break. Visma Lease a Bike have stepped up the pace in the peloton and started working for Vingegaard in earnest … and it looks like they’ve dropped Remco Evenepoel!
Updated
54km to go: Axel Laurance (Ineos) leads the way at the front of the break. 8km still to climb. Ineos had five riders up front, they now have three: Laurance, Arensman and Rodriguez.
Updated
55km to go: But wait! As I type, it seems Buchmann, and Lenny Martinez, are both dropped.
55km to go: Rodriguez, O’Connor, Skjelmose, Buchmann, Arensman, Vlasov, Woods are all there.
56km to go: The front group has neatly been cut in half in the early stages of the climb, and now numbers 25. Once they’ve had a proper sort-out after this climb I’ll list the riders that are still there.
Updated
57.5km to go: The dreaded graphic is added to our pictures, the one about how much of the climb remains …
“11.1km,” it says. Meanwhile Hannah Walker on TNT says it’s so hot on the climb that the tarmac is starting to melt.
Nils Pollitt (UAE Team Emirates) is still putting in a massive ride on the front of the peloton, trying to control the gap to the break for his team leader Tadej Pogacar. Genuinely heroic scenes. But how many matches will be burned before the end of the stage?
Updated
58km to go:
“Hi Luke, and Colin,” emails Alistair.
“The thing about the KOM is all about the polka dot jumper. Even a dead-flat stage with a single one-point steep hill, if it’s in the early days of the Tour, may get you the distinctive shirt for a day, and the chance for friends and family to see your mug on the podium. Also, a bit of cash of course, but these are highly prized distinctions for gregarii, domestiques, bottle-bearers who have slim chance of any greater distinction. Worth nothing in the greater scheme of things, but it’s a means to spread a bit of love around.
“Cheers, Alistair (dreaming of a grey jersey at 64).”
Updated
60km to go: The gap between peloton and break is up to 2min 08sec.
Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) does a big turn at the front to try and increase the advantage of the front group. Then he drops back.
Luke Durbridge (Jayco–AlUla) then takes it up. He’s another one putting in a massive effort to keep this breakaway up the road.
Updated
61km to go: What I’m wondering is, what effect will the frankly ridiculously hard first half of this race have on today’s racing? That’s partly why I’m suspicious about it being a classic slug-fest between the GC contenders.
The riders are on the climb!
64km to go: On commentary for TNT Sports Carlton Kirby also employs the word “verdant”, regarding this beautiful valley.
There are 10 KOM points on offer for the winner of the imminent climb, the Col du Soulor. It’s 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1, in that order, for the top six.
Updated
65km to go: I remain unconvinced by the theory that this is guaranteed to end with a punch-up between Pogacar and Vingegaard for the stage win and obviously, also, for time in GC. Although it would also be surprising if Visma Lease a Bike don’t try something, in view of Pogacar being a bit beaten up by yesterday’s late crash.
Updated
69km to go: Right, what’s the situation? The race is very close to the foot of the first category-one climb of this year’s race, the Col du Soulour.
The break has 1min 40sec. There’s a wonderful helicopter shot of a verdant valley floor with the mountains looming nearby. The front group, having been 52, now numbers 50. Coquard is one of the riders who dropped out. On the motorbike for TNT Sports, Romain Bardet speculated he might have been stung by a bee. But that is T-bee-C. Sorry.
Updated
70km to go: “Enjoying the text commentary from my garden in the north of Japan,” writes Chris Sato. “One of your previous mails was from Thomas in DC who mentioned he was in seat 11A on a flight. I just checked, it’s the same number seat as the sole survivor of the recent Air India plane crash.”
Well, there you have it. Thanks for your email Chris.
73km to go: One obvious response to Colin, I guess, is that the KOM competition effectively starts today anyway, while the points competition begins in anger with all the flat stages.
The timed sections idea is interesting though.
In that Luke Rowe reader interview, he backed replacing the best young rider classification with a grey jersey for best old rider:
With the peloton seeming to get younger each year, what do you think to replacing the best young rider white jersey with a best old rider (say, over 35) grey jersey? Vic Baker
“I think it’s got value: the white jersey is becoming outdated. Traditionally a rider’s peak was 28 to 32, now you’re seeing 21-year-olds winning Grand Tours. So it is becoming a little bit extinct, because riders are so good, so young. I’d be all for it. To replace the white with the grey would be quite cool. Any rider who’s performing at that level at 35 or above, you have to say chapeau, because they’ve done it for 15 years, give or take. That deserves a round of applause in itself. So I think a grey jersey instead of white has legs.”
Updated
75km to go: The gap between break and peloton is holding at around 1min 48sec.
“Looking at your points competition standings brings to my mind a thought I have every year,” emails Colin. “The KOM competition is weird. Lenny Martinez is leading currently with 27 points. In the Points competition, after the same number of stages, Jonathan Milan is leading with 231!
“I understand the categories, but there’s so little purpose in chasing Cat 4 points when a single Cat 1 or HC are worth many, many times more. And ‘first over the top’ might be traditional, but why not have some that are timed sections, bottom to top, rewarding literally the fastest climber?
“If it was me, I’d change the system so Cat 4’s are worth more, have more placing points, and give a steady 5-point increase per category (and corresponding placing points) for Cat 3, 2, 1 and HC. Plus one timed climb per stage with points awared.
“Full disclosure, I have done no research into this so it might make no difference at all, but I do feel strongly about it.”
Strong feelings, no research? Welcome to my world.
Updated
77km to go: “Today’s break needs at least five minutes at the bottom of the penultimate climb, maybe more, emails Ryan Terpstra. “The GC riders will be attacking and a small margin will not be enough.”
I have to ask, is Ryan related to Niki?
“I am very Dutch but the Holland I live in is in Michigan, USA, not Netherlands. Terpstra is as common there as Smith is in other English countries, I believe. So maybe? Depends on how far up the family tree I have to go, but I did always enjoy rooting for him.”
78km to go: “I’ve got the spottiest plane wifi on a flight right now and can’t watch live,” emails ‘Thomas from DC’.
“Your updates are the only thing keeping me sane! Being in the middle seat I can tell my seat neighbours have ever-more prying eyes as we near those climbs. And a reminder to not book a flight during a mountain stage again … Thanks for keeping row A11 up to date.”
Bon voyage, Thomas.
81km to go: Rex and Nys contested that sprint to try and mop up the points on behalf of teammates. (Girmay in the case of Rex, Milan in the case of Nys).
But it’s a handy 17pts for second place for the irrepressible Van der Poel, who moves above Pogacar in the green jersey standings, into second place behind Milan.
Laurenz Rex (Intermarché-Wanty) wins intermediate sprint
1) Laurenz Rex (Intermarché–Wanty) 20pts
2) Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin–Deceuninck) 17pts
3) Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) 15pts
Updated
86km to go: Now, the front group is racing downhill towards the intermediate sprint at Bénéjacq.
Updated
87km to go: Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) eased off the front atop the first climb and won the KOM point. No one really seemed to mind.
Updated
88km to go: “This is the first chance for the GC riders [to make big gains]” says Stybar on commentary. “I think the gap is too small to stay in front of the bunch. Once they pull full gas on the climb, one minute, or 1min 45 will not be enough. They [GC teams] are really going to go for it and go for the stage win.”
Stybar applying “Richard Hirst theory”, there.
Updated
89.5km to go: Uno-X Mobility riders lead the way up this first climb, the Côte de Labtmale.
91km to go: The front of the race is on the first categorised climb but it’s a piffling affair compared to what is coming up later in the stage. There is one KOM point on offer to the winner, and they probably won’t even bother racing for it. This prediction may be proved incorrect in record-quick time …
Updated
94km to go: Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) is receiving medical attention, having been in the front group. It looks like he may have dislocated his finger. The medics are taping it up. He might have a six-minute gap to the peloton now and will really struggle to ride the rest of the stage on his own and make the time cut.
Updated
95km to go: “It would be good to have someone in the break,” Geraint Thomas of Ineos Grenadiers, the Tour de France champion in 2018, told TNT Sports before today’s stage. “You never know … we keep trying.”
Matt Stephens asks: How has his race been so far, overall? “Up and down. I feel like, I don’t know, a bit inconsistent. But maybe part of that is mentally, when you’re not fully in the race, racing for GC. It just hurts a bit harder when it doesn’t really have to: you can just sit up, and wait for another day.
“Just got to keep pushing. You know, it’s my last Tour, try and enjoy it. Yeah, try and get in the break and animate the race a bit. But it’s tough because you need legs. It’s not to bad, it’s not so bad, it’s just yeah, it’s a different way of racing, you know?
“But I’m enjoying it, we’re getting more and more little wins as the days go by. Obviously not a win, but you know, we’re taking positives from each day, and the group’s getting better together, so we keep trying.”
Updated
102km to go: The Côte de Labatmale, a category-four, is coming up. Then it’s the sprint and Mathieu van der Poel, third place in the green jersey standings, is in the front group. Will he go for it? Presumably he will if he gets half a chance.
Points classification: top five after stage 11
Milan 231 pts
Pogacar 163pts
Van der Poel 156pts
Girmay 154pts
Merlier 150pts
104km to go: “That group is going to split,” observes Adam Blythe. “It’s way too big to just go rolling along as it is.”
Now, as it to confirm Blythe’s point, there is action at the front, and the gap between break and peloton goes up again, to 1min 55sec. Certain riders and teams are clearly thinking they need to get busy and make sure the peloton doesn’t get back in touch. Which makes perfect sense when you consider there is a prestigious stage win on offer to one lucky rider in this group.
Updated
106km to go: “I think the worst possible case for Pogacar (and the best case for the viewers) is Visma getting a well timed stomp on, being able isolate him and then relentlessly attacking, rider after rider, like the other year,” emails Bill. “It’s what the mountains are for.
“Mind you, I think he’ll survive it and maintain the GC time gap, but to go all the way through to Paris and win is going to require some thrilling heroics on his part.
“He’s described Visma’s efforts so far as “annoying” but that would surely be up there with “wasp in the car that won’t fly out the window as you’re driving down the motorway”.
“However, I do quite like the guy, he seems very affable, as do all the contenders for GC. And I do agree, the stage winner is in the break already.”
Thanks for your email Bill.
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109km to go: The likes of Matteo Trentin, Tobias Foss, Luke Durbridge, Bryan Coquard and Fred Wright have been driving the escape group. Plenty of horsepower.
It feels like the 35-year-old Trentin has been around for years, but that’s mainly because he has.
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112km to go: “There will be a very small group together on the final climb,” predicts the former pro rider Zdenek Stybar on TNT Sports, in context of the draining punch-up this stage has been in its early stages.
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113km to go: The gap is down to 1min 30sec. The Nils Pollitt effect, you see. He is still grinding it out at the front of the main bunch.
The average speed has now dropped to a far more serene 50.3km/h.
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115km to go: There are four categorised climbs on today’s route.
The category-four Côte de Labatmale (1.3km, 6.3% average gradient), the summit coming after 91.4km.
The intermediate sprint, at Bénéjacq, comes after 95.1km.
The Col du Soulour, the first category-one ascent of the Tour, summits after 134.1km (11.8km, 7.3%).
The category-two Col des Bordères is 3.1km long at 7.7% average gradient, with the summit arriving 141.4km.
Then the hors-catégorie Hautacam to finish – 13.5km long, with an average gradient of 7.8%.
117km to go: As there are some strong climbers in this big 52-rider group up front I fancy the stage winner will be among them.
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118km to go: “Not sure what all the excitement is about,” emails Richard Hirst.
“If a certain twosome don’t go sauntering past the leading group on the final climb, if not before, I’ll eat my baguette.”
Interesting, Richard, very interesting.
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119km to go: “It’s the race that keeps on giving,” says Robbie McEwen on commentary, referring to the near 52km/h average speed today. Or taking, if you look at it from the riders’ perspective.
122km to go: The gap is down to 1min 44sec. Carlton Kirby says it’s 52 riders up front. 51 or 52, it’s a lot.
Oh, I believe I may have initially missed Stian Fredheim (Uno-X Mobility), so that makes 52 in the break.
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125km to go: Michael Woods (Israel-PremierTech) and Guillaume Martin (Groupama–FDJ) must be among the favourites to win today as they’re up in the front.
126km to go: To recap, there’s been a massive split in the bunch, with a 51-rider group powering up the road about 45min ago. Neither Pogacar nor Vingegaard, or anyone in the top 10 of the GC, is in that front group. Rodriguez of Ineos is the best-placed rider, in 12th place, over 5min down on the race leader Ben Healy.
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128km to go: The gap is 1min 57sec. The average speed is creeping up towards 52km/h.
130km to go: Visma–Lease a Bike were presumably hoping to test Pogacar out after his crash. (Although Vingegaard said it would depend on how his legs feel.) And of course they still can try and test Pogacar and UAE, even if there is a big break up the road and the stage winner is not a GC rider. All the signs are pointing at being a breakaway day plus significant GC day too.
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132km to go: The peloton is completely strung out as they try to control the gap to this break. The gap has stabilised at around 1min 52sec. It’s another hard, hard day and they haven’t even started the climbs. What sporting event is tougher on the competitors than this?
133km to go: The average speed today is 51.5km/h. It’s hot hot hot!
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135km to go: The question of Pogacar’s condition today after the crash is an interesting one. UAE will presumably be willing to risk a certain amount of damage in the GC – let’s say Rodriguez taking yellow for Ineos – with a view to letting Pogacar recover. As long as they don’t lose some ludicrous amount of time overall, of course.
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136km to go: My bet is that the stage winner comes from the front group, but that it’s completely splintered down to a tiny lead group with plenty of distance left to go in the stage. (Obviously the category-one Col du Soulour, with the summit at 134km, will separate the wheat from the chaff.)
137km to go: An email from Nick entitled “Split”.
“If it lasts, could it be that UAE need an easier day for Pog, and Visma aren’t willing or able to attack? Those question might completely redundant by the time they reach the Hautacam.”
Regarding Van der Poel’s radio problems from yesterday, Luke Rowe recently said this in a reader interview:
“One thing a lot of people don’t realise with cycling is that the radio quality is terrible. You’ve got to be short, sharp and direct. If there’s any sitting on the fence, you’re fucked.”
141km to go: If Nils Pollitt, Pogacar’s teammate, can’t close this gap it shows how well the front group is working together. He is an absolute machine.
Obviously Pogacar and Vingegaard are back in the main bunch, if you can still call it that, with a 51-rider breakaway up the road. If one of them was up front and one of them behind we’d all be having kittens right now.
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142km to go: There are 51 riders up front, I believe: Wellens, Benoot, Schachmann, Sweeny, Barré, Rex, Buitrago, Lenny Martinez, Stannard, Wright, Arensman, Foss, Laurance, Rodriguez, Swift, Pithie, Vlasov, Nys, Skjelmose, Theuns, Martin, Madouas, Penhoët, Van der Poel, Alaphilippe, Hirschi, Storer, Trentin, O’Connor, Durbridge, Schmid, García Pierna, Venturini, Castrillo, Romeo, Rubio, Armirail, Paret-Paintre, Buchmann, Coquard, Izagirre, Teuns, Tejada, Velasco, Cras, Gachignard, Turgis, Woods, Blackmore, Lutsenko, Drizners, Fredheim.
Their advantage is now 1min 57sec.
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146km to go: Nils Pollitt is working on the front of the peloton. But the break’s advantage is up to 1min 52sec. So much for a nice easy day for the GC teams with a nice, unthreatening break up the road …
147km to go: “Currently watching live updates as the last two days of school are filled with movies and emptying cupboards for the students,” emails Sarah. “Cannot wait to see what happens on the climbs today!”
151km to go: Carlos Rodríguez of Ineos is the biggest GC threat in the front group of 50-odd. He is 12th overall, 5min 44sec down.
Then Guillaume Martin is the next closest (10min 44sec down), O’Connor (11min 50sec) and Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), 12min 45sec.
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153km to go: It’s 1min 30sec for the big break now.
“Have they just split into faster vs slower riders or is there something else going on?” asks Dave on email.
I’m not sure I quite understand the question … certainly the peloton behind are not there by choice. They’ve been caught out by an attack and presumably it was aided by some crosswinds or headwind.
Benoot, Schachmann, Barré, Lenny Martinez, Vlasov, Theuns, Madouas, Alaphilippe, Hirschi, Michael Woods are all in this massive front group. They’ve got 1min 10sec. It looks highly likely that the stage winner will come from this group.
“This is going to get complicated,” says Sean Kelly on commentary.
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155km to go: Half the Ineos team is in the front group. Ben O’Connor and some teammates is also there. The front group now has a minute and growing … could this move have a profound effect on the overall? It has the potential.
159km to go: It’s a group of 50, or 47, depending on whose data you trust. Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) is in there. Mathieu van der Poel, too, and Guillame Martin, who is more than capable of winning the stage as William Fotheringham wrote pre-race.
They have 51sec.
160.5km to go: The front group has 41sec.
Huge split in the bunch
162km to go: The peloton has cracked in two, and the group ahead has 29sec.
The front group has 40-50 riders. Team directors, and live bloggers, will frantically be trying to work out who is in the front group. They have 35sec.
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162km to go: Why not send me an email?
166km to go: Victor Campenaerts (Visma–Lease a Bike) has a crack off the front. He is pretty quickly swept up by a peloton that speeds up in response.
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168km to go: The pace is hot, overall, but has again slowed slightly with no one attacking right now. “A lot of teams interested,” says one of the Ineos sports directors on team radio. You can say that again. But there is no definitive breakaway yet. Plenty of riders in the bunch will be praying it goes soon so they can have a nice little rest.
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170km to go: Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) is prominent at the front. Now Ben O’Connor (Jayco–AlUla) comes past the Welshman and attacks. Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling) is also up there.
There was one race withdrawal this morning: Cees Bol (WorldTeam XDS Astana) has abandoned due to illness. Commiserations if you had him in your Velogames team.
172km to go: Oh, and I should mention that the first categorised climb comes before today’s intermediate. The Côte de Labatmale (1.3km, 6.3% average gradient) summits after 91.4km of racing, then the sprint point is at 95.1km, a little over halfway through the stage.
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174km to go: Alexey Lutsenko (Israel-PremierTech) has clipped off the front of the bunch. The front of the bunch is now strung out after what appeared to be a momentary ceasefire in the fight for the breakaway.
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176km to go: There are a few uncategorised lumps on the way to the intermediate sprint: Tarasteix is 350m tall, at 66.3km, while Ger is 390m, coming after 74.1km. Nothing that will intimidate Milan or his fellow green jersey hopefuls.
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179km to go: Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) is visible up near the front, hoping to get in the break and win the intermediate sprint at Bénéjacq after 91km before the climbers come to the fore.
Interestingly the first attack came from yesterday’s stage winner, Jonas Abrahamsen, of Uno-X Mobility. Milan is right up front, and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché–Wanty) is marking him.
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The race is on!
Christian Prudhomme waves his flag and the race has begun.
The riders are out on the road behind the race director’s car. The flag is about to drop. If predictions are correct there is going to be a huge fight for the break …
“Looking forward to today since the tour started,” emails Fergal. “I pedalled up the Hautacam last week while on a cycling trip with my girlfriend. It is indeed a very tough climb, especially in the heat - even at the 10km/h we averaged, half the speed of the pros. Also did Col du Solour, which is not so punishing. Would love to see Jonas and Tadej hit the slopes of the Hautacam together today. Praying for a not-so-one-sided race this year.”
“I’m OK. Nothing too bad,” Pogacar tells Matt Stephens after his crash yesterday. “My whole left arm is open, burned off skin. And I hit my hip a little bit and my shoulder, but luckily I was back on the bike quite fast. Today is another day. It’s not the first time I crashed and continued the race. It’s more important the legs than my arm. I have a super-strong team around me. I am so grateful I can rely on them, even if I have a hard day today, but I hope not.
“It’s really sad to lose another young talent,” Pogacar says of Samuele Privitera’s death at the Giro della Valle d’Aosta yesterday. “It’s devastating. It’s one of the most dangerous sports in the world. Sometimes the risks we are taking are too far. I’m really sad for all his family. May he rest in peace … he deserves to “not be bothered” now. It’s a sad loss.”
Mathieu van der Poel has said he didn’t realise, to start with, that two riders remained ahead of him when he attacked clear of the chasing bunch on yesterday’s stage.
“Already all week with the radio communication, there’s so much communication in the Tour that sometimes there’s no connection for us,” Van der Poel told TNT Sports
“So I thought at a certain point that the attack was to win the race, but then I saw quite quickly that there were some riders still in front of me, so I just tried to ride as fast as possible to the finish line.”
“It’s a very long climb,” Vingegaard tells Matt Stephens on TNT Sports. “It will take between 30 and 40 minutes [to climb the Hautacam]. In general, today will be a very hard day.”
Will he be marking Pogacar or attacking? “It depends on the legs. If you don’t have the legs it’s more about following. I guess we’ll see, on the last climb, how the legs will be … It’s never a bad thing to have a guy in the break.”
Tomorrow is a hard uphill individual time trial. Will he keep that in mind today? “No, there is no hiding today. You have to go full-gas today, tomorrow, and also the day after.”
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Before the Tour I spoke to Gary Imlach, ITV4’s brilliant long-time anchorman, and Brian and James Venner from VSquaredTV, who have been producing the live and highlights coverage since 1986.
This is the final year of ITV’s contract, who acquired the rights after Channel 4 gave them up a quarter of a century ago. Have a read:
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“Today is the day when we’re going to see cards being shown,” says Adam Blythe on TNT Sports. “And it’s an exciting day because there’s a lot of flat before it [the big climbs]. There’s stuff that could go perfectly (for GC teams) but there’s a lot that could go wrong too.”
There is always a sense of phoney war in the run-in to the Tour de France’s first stage in the high mountains, and at least one debate of the opening 10 days of this year’s race fits that context to a T. Has Jonas Vingegaard’s Visma-Lease a Bike team at times been towing the bunch deliberately in order to ensure that Tadej Pogacar retains the yellow jersey? It’s a gloriously arcane question, the kind that only comes up in the Tour’s opening phase, but it distracts from a point that could be key in the next 10 days: how the two teams manage the race will probably be decisive.
Pogacar spoke to media after yesterday’s crash: “I’m a bit beaten up, but we’ve been through worse days. I think everybody was a bit à bloc. There were attacks from Matteo [Jorgenson] and Jonas Vingegaard, they really put everybody on the limit. Unfortunately one rider decided to follow from left to right side of the road. He didn’t see me and he just completely cut me off, my front wheel.
“Luckily, I just have a little bit of skin off. I was scared when I saw the sidewalk that I was going [to hit] my head directly to the sidewalk, but luckily my skin is tough and stopped me before the sidewalk.”
Regarding today’s stage, Pogacar said: “Tomorrow is a big day. We’ll see how I recover. Normally the day after a crash you’re never at the best, but I will give my best and we’ll see. I think we’re ready as a team for Hautacam.”
Those quotes from Jeremy Whittle’s report, which you can enjoy here:
First proper mountain stage up the grim ascent above Lourdes where Miguel Indurain destroyed the field in 1994. There’s a long preamble to the Col du Soulor, the first category-one pass of the race, so expect a massive break targeting the stage win. If the favourites give the break leeway, the winner will be someone who can climb but won’t win overall, so why not the Frenchman Guillaume Martin?
There are four categorised climbs on today’s route. The appetiser is the category-four Côte de Labatmale (1.3km, 6.3% average gradient), the summit coming after 91.4km. The Col du Soulour, the first category-one ascent of the Tour, will test the riders’ legs even further, cresting after 134.1km (11.8km, 7.3%). The category-two Col des Bordères is a comparatively friendly 3.1km long at 7.7% average gradient, with the summit arriving 141.4km into the stage. Then it’s the Hautacam to finish – 13.5km long, with an average gradient of 7.8%. Ouch!
There is also one intermediate sprint, at Bénéjacq, after 95.1km.
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Preamble
The first 11 stages have, as usual, been punishing and endlessly challenging for riders and fascinating and rewardingly complex for fans. But with the first category-one and HC (hors catégorie/beyond categorisation) climbs of this year’s Tour, today’s stage 12 is in a sense where the race really starts.
Will it be a breakaway day, a GC day, or a bit of both on the 181km ride from Auch to Hautacam, finishing at the summit where Jonas Vingegaard scored a decisive victory on stage 18 in 2022? Who are the ambitious riders who have been targeting this stage for victory since the route was announced, duly saving their energy, where possible, in recent days? Can Ben Healy delight Irish fans by somehow defending the yellow jersey for EF Education–EasyPost?
The defending champion Tadej Pogacar – who suffered a late crash yesterday, prompting Healy and others to slow the pace in the style of old-fashioned peloton patrons – will be man-marking Vingegaard on the way up the mountain, and vice-versa. But there is a big question over how Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates will fare in the high peaks, particularly in view of the loss of key climbing lieutenant João Almeida.
It’s going to be a fascinating stage, and there are almost certainly surprises and copious amounts of high drama in store. Allez!
Stage stage time: 12.25 UK
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